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Twelve money-saving travel secrets from experts

Experts at the recent travel industry show hosted by the New York Times shared 12 secrets about saving money on flights, cruises and hotels, how to avoid scams and finding bargain destinations. Fasten your seat belt and please keep your tray in the upright, locked position. — Richard Eisenberg

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1. Try calling the airline instead of booking online

Peter “The Travel Detective” Greenberg (CBS News Travel Editor and PBS host) asked the Travel Show audience, “How many of you book your travel online?” Most hands went up. “You’re all losers! You think all the available inventory is on the web. Not even close. It’s only the inventory they want to put online.”

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2. Clear your computer’s cookies and cache

If you searched for airfares on a site but didn’t buy a ticket, use a different browser or computer on your next visit or clear your computer’s cookies and cache. Otherwise you may be shown a higher fare because you left cookies the first time and the site knows you’re eager to buy, said Frommers.com Editor-in-Chief Jason Cochran.

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3. Try shopping without frequent flier numbers

If you belong to a airline loyalty program, check its site for fares using your frequent flyer number and without it. “Delta offered me a fare for $529 and then I went put in my frequent flyer number, the fare suddenly jumped to $607,” said Cochran. “They said there was a different class of tickets for frequent flyers.”

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4. Try the train

Train lovers with time on their hands should look into Amtrak’s 15-day go-anywhere deal. “You can get off and on anytime and see all of your dysfunctional relatives in one trip for $500; $250 for kids under 12,” Greenberg said. “Travel agents don’t know about it. Amtrak doesn’t even know about it.”

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5. Exploit the cruise industry’s bad publicity

Take advantage of the cruise industry’s bad publicity (the Costa Concordia and Carnival Triumph disasters) and excess capacity. “It’s a buyer’s market with rates as low as $149,” Greenberg said. “And there are now itineraries they never had before. You don’t always have to go to Nassau anymore.” At left, the wrecked Costa Concordia, where 32 people died.

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6. Call the hotel directly

Call a hotel directly for its best room rate rather than booking online or phoning its 800 number. “You can get more discounts from a phone call than from a web site,” said Frugal Traveler columnist Seth Kugel.

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7. Try other hotel booking sites

For the biggest online choices in hotels matching your preferences, try Venere.com and Booking.com. Guidebook author and travel expert Reid Bramblett said when he scoured for hotels in the historic center of Rome, at left, Venere had twice as many as Hotels.com and Booking.com had triple the number.

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8. Consider alternative lodging

Consider alternative lodgings to hotels. “I love hotels, but they’re rarely the most interesting place to stay and they’re usually the most expensive,” said Bramblett, who bragged about renting a two-bedroom apartment in Venice for $73 a night.

Two of Bramblett’s suggestions: Camp along the Seine in Paris for $13 a night through Indigo Paris or stay overnight in a European monastery for $50. At left, camping cabins at The Yorkshire Dales National Park in the U.K.

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9. Watch out for travel-offer scams

Watch out for “free” travel offers on Facebook
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Cochran cited what looked like a giveaway of two free Southwest
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tickets from “Allison” but was a ruse to trick people into giving up personal information.

“If I see an offer, I tweet the company directly or go to its official Facebook page directly,” Cochran said. “Never click through a link, even if it looks legitimate.” He also said if there’s no “slash” after Facebook.com in a URL, it isn’t Facebook’s domain.

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10. Don’t rent without a live conversation

Don’t agree to rent out someone’s home until you speak, Skype or FaceTime with them. “Legitimate renters are happy to talk to you,” said Cochran. Skype or FaceTime conversations are best because you can then insist on seeing the whole apartment or house.

11. Visit countries where few Americans vacation

12. Go where the local currency has been pounded

Frommer tossed off five examples: Argentina (“an absolutely delightful place for Americans to visit”), Australia, Canada, Japan (“notoriously expensive, but it has now become very inexpensive”) and, due to political difficulties, Turkey (“it will be an unusually favorable country for Americans to visit in the months ahead”). At left, gauchos at a fiesta in San Antonio de Areco, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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